Seminar 1
Seminar 1
Seminar 1
By Le Thanh Ha
Type I: True/False question (give a brief explanation)
1. GDP can measure either the total income of everyone in the economy or the total
expenditure on the economy’s output of goods and services, but GDP cannot
measure both at the same time.
2. GDP includes only the value of final goods because the value of intermediate goods
is already included in the prices of the final goods.
3. While GDP includes tangible goods such as books and bug spray, it excludes
intangible services such as the services provided by teachers and exterminators.
4. Most goods whose purchases are included in the investment component of GDP are
used to produce other goods.
5. New home construction is included in the consumption component of GDP.
6. Changes in inventory are included in the investment component of GDP.
7. The government purchases component of GDP includes salaries paid to soldiers but
not Social Security benefits paid to the elderly.
8. If someone in the Vietnam buys a surfboard produced in China, then that purchase
is included in both the consumption component of VN. GDP and the net exports
component of VN. GDP.
9. Real GDP evaluates current production using prices that are fixed at the base year
and therefore shows how the economy’s overall production of goods and services
changes over time.
10. Real GDP is a better gauge of economic well-being than is nominal GDP.
2. What components of GDP (if any) would each of the following transactions affect?
Explain.
a. Ha buys a new refrigerator from a domestic manufacturer.
b. Linh buys a old house from a friend.
c. You pay a hairdresser for a haircut.
e. Ford sells a Mustang from its inventory to the Le’s family.
f. Vinfast manufactures a Vinfast Fadil and sells it to Avis, the car rental company.
h. The government sends your grandmother a Social Security check.
i. Your parents buy a bottle of French wine.
j. Honda expands its factory in Ohio.
3. .Since it is counted as investment, why doesn't the purchase of production equipment
from China by a Vietnam. corporation increase V.N. GDP?
4. Identify the immediate effect of each of the following events on V.N. GDP and its
components.
a. Ha receives a Social Security check.
b. Ha buys an Italian sports car.
c. Ha buys domestically produced tools for his construction company.
6. Below are some data from the land of milk and honey.
a. Compute nominal GDP, real GDP, and the GDP deflator for each year, using 2016 as the
base year.
b. Compute the percentage change in nominal GDP, real GDP, and the GDP deflator in
2017 and 2018 from the preceding year. For each year, identify the variable that does not
change. Explain why your answer makes sense.